Looking For Salamander
by DD42
Summary: Five years have passed since he had saved her life and now she's determined to find him. The only problem is that she has no idea who he is. But as one of Magnolia's best investigative reporters, the truth is never far from her reach. Now if only that mechanic she befriended would stop acting so weird around her then maybe she'd be able to make some progress. (Military/Reporter AU)
1. Chapter 1

_**Looking For Salamander**_

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to another foray into the Fairy Tail universe. For those of you who are familiar with my stories, I welcome you back. For those of you who are not familiar with me, I welcome you and hope you enjoy what will hopefully be the first of many chapters.

As is per usual with most of my writing, I've had this idea in my head for a while now and it has refused to go away. After debating with myself and talking about the idea with two other FT authors, I decided to bring this story to life. I honestly have no idea why I torture myself like this but now that I've put pen to paper, I'll do my best to commit to this story.

So, with that being said, this story is a Military/Reporter AU. I've tried my hand at writing a military themed FT story before…but it just didn't work out at the time. Now, I feel more comfortable with what I have here and hopefully I'll be able to see this one through. I apologize if I get a few things wrong about the news industry; the military is more my forte, not the media.

As always, I hope you will give your honest opinion with your review and if you have any questions regarding this story feel free to ask it in your review which I will either reply to in the next chapter or respond to ASAP, or, you can PM me; whatever works for you!

 _ **WARNING:**_ This is one of the few stories I've written where I'm giving it the "M" rating right from the start. Although it won't be constant, this story will contain harsh language, violent content related to warfare, along with sexual and mature themes. This story will also tackle the theme of combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Reader discretion is advised.

 _ **DISCLAIMER:**_ I do not own Fairy Tail; Hiro Mashima and Kodansha Comics USA own it. If I did own Fairy Tail…well let's just say some things would be different.

So without further ado, let's begin!

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DESCRIPTION: Five years had passed since he had saved her life and now she's determined more than ever to find him. The only problem is that she has no idea who he is. But as one of Magnolia's best investigative reporters, the truth is never far from her reach. Now if only that quirky, pink haired mechanic she befriended would stop acting so weird around her then maybe she'd be able to make some progress.

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CHAPTER 1

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" _It's been five years since Channel Five's own Lucy Heartfilia was taken hostage by the insurgent group known as Phantom Lord. Miss Heartfilia was on her first overseas assignment covering the insurgency in the Alvarez Empire when she was captured during a surprise attack. For three weeks, the rebels held Lucy against her will while making ransom demand after ransom demand in exchange for her freedom; demands her family were quick to cave into. However, instead of freedom, Lucy was still held prisoner by the rebels each time the ransom was collected and was kept on the move and out of reach of the authorities._

 _It wasn't until an anonymous source finally managed to relay Lucy's location to the Military of Fiore and a rescue mission was quickly planned out. The Army's elite Special Forces were quick to act. Striking fast and hard, those brave soldiers retrieved Lucy under heavy fire and brought her home. Many thought Lucy would never recover from her ordeal, but, she surprised us all by remaining steadfast with her recovery and facing any obstacle that came her way._

 _Lucy Heartfilia has since become one of the most recognized and beloved reporters on the airwaves in addition to becoming an award winning author, whose stories of adventure, magic, and friendship have won the hearts of many._

 _Despite her busy schedule, we were able to sit down with Lucy for an interview about her experience along with asking her about her future plans."_

The television screen cut from photos and video clips to the interview that had been held a few days before, now being aired on the six o'clock news for all to see. She couldn't suppress the small chuckle at how out of place she thought she looked, being in front of a camera and in her own home instead of the TV station while her coworker, Andrea, sat down in front of her.

Even with all the limelight she found herself in over the past few years, home was home, and the thought of being put on the spot in a place where she felt most comfortable had been a bit unnerving. But she hadn't let her uneasiness show. As she did whenever she was on the air, she kept her composure and greeted the camera with a smile.

They went through the usual greetings and introductions; she answered some basic questions; and even answered some questions posted by viewers and fans from social media. Then came the part she knew everyone was waiting for.

"… _What was it like?" Andrea had asked, "Being held captive like that?"_

" _It was…" She had bit her lip, chewing on it out of nervous habit and thought._

" _It was terrible, like a living nightmare. I was always being moved around from a dusty room or to a dirty cell…bound and gagged…not knowing if I was going to be tortured, raped, or shot and left in some ditch somewhere. My friends and family were always on my mind and it was my faith in seeing them again-in knowing that people were looking for me-that kept me sane through the whole ordeal."_

It had almost been nauseating remembering her time as a hostage. Even as she recalled the events, she could still remember every sight, taste, touch, and smell. Her stomach had churned more than once but she fought it back, determined to not let her memories get the best of her.

" _I can't even imagine what that must have been like." Andrea had said sympathetically._

" _I don't think anyone truly does until they've been through something like that." Lucy countered, unable to mask the slight bitterness in her voice._

" _Your time held captive lasted for about three weeks until rescue finally arrived. In true Special Forces fashion, the raid happened at night. What can you tell us about that night?"_

" _My guards had spent most of the day beating the hell out of me, something they loved to do, before they left alone for the evening. It was around midnight that one guard had returned to my room for another round. I was scared out of my mind and had literally crawled into a corner to try and get away from him. But before the man could do anything to me, the soldiers arrived. I remember seeing movement behind the man and before I knew what had happened, a soldier had driven his knife into the guard and killed him. That same soldier confirmed my identity and told me they were there to take me home…I had never been so relieved in all my life. But…"_

" _But?" Andrea asked._

" _Things went south pretty quick after that. A sniper team that was overlooking the village I was being held in spotted a guard about to get the jump on the rescue team. They shot the guy down but inadvertently made him fire his weapon; something to do with the body reflexing or seizing up from being shot or something like that. The gunfire drew the attention of his comrades and, well, I think you got the idea. We tried to get out of the building but were forced to run back inside; it was a full blown firefight from there on out."_

" _From the official statement the Army released about the rescue, in the course of the fighting, you and a soldier had been separated from the main rescue force and had to flee into the nearby forest."_

" _That's correct. A rocket had hit the building we were in and caused the hallway to collapse. We had to go a different way outside and by the time we got out, everything had gone to hell in a hand basket and we had insurgents chasing us. So we ran for most of the night in the forest before we stumbled upon an abandoned farm. We hid there, thinking we had given Phantom Lord the slip. The soldier I was with was able to reestablish radio contact with his team but the fighting had gotten so bad that they were unable to come get us. They had a lock on our location but we'd have to hold out until dawn until reinforcements arrived."_

" _It sounds like something out of a Tom Clancy book." Andrea had said with wide eyes._

 _She'd given a humorless chuckle, "Books are one thing, real life is another. Especially with what happened next."_

 _She had paused then, becoming lost in thought for a moment before she finally snapped out of her stupor. Andrea urged her to continue._

" _Dawn came but Phantom Lord finally caught up with us. They started shooting the barn we'd been hiding in so we fled to the house. When the house was nearly blasted to pieces, we ran into the nearby field, hoping to escape to the other side of the forest. That's when they started shelling the field. With mortars landing all around us, the soldier and I took cover in an old drainage ditch…well, to be honest, he tackled me to the ground and draped his body over mine to protect me."_

" _How noble." Andrea had commented._

" _The bombardment crept closer and closer to us and then, all of the sudden, we were blasted out of the ditch. A mortar shell had landed close enough that it had tossed us into the air. But still…that soldier held onto me with a death grip, even as we rolled on the ground. We tried to stand and run but Phantom Lord's insurgents were waiting. They began to shoot at us. Most were terrible shots-for which I am grateful for-but a few got lucky. A bullet hit me in the shoulder, while another hit my leg; knocking me down. The soldier, already wounded from the blast, covered my body with his once more and…and I…I can still remember how his body jerked when he got shot."_

" _Oh my God…" Andrea whispered._

" _He took the bullets that were meant for me…" Lucy said, eyes clouded over; lost in thought. She came to her senses once more and cleared her throat while wiping the tears out of her eyes._

" _So…just as Phantom Lord was moving in for the kill, the Army appeared at the last second and saved the day. Cliché, I know, but it's true. They brought fighter jets, helicopters, and an entire platoon of other special forces soldiers. The Phantom Lord insurgents were promptly wiped out. I was quickly rushed into an awaiting helicopter but they had to pry me out of my protector's grip to do so. The last I saw of him was that his body armor had been ripped off and that another soldier was beginning to administer CPR. Then exhaustion finally caught up with me and I blacked out."_

" _Do you know what happened to the soldier who saved you?"_

"… _No." She had answered after a lengthy pause, "And I still don't."_

They had taken a break then, which gave the editors a chance to add in a quick commercial break before the interview resumed. When it returned, she and Andrea were all smiles again. It was weird to watch. They talked about her recovery, her time in the hospital and her reunion with her family and friends, how she faced the media frenzy that surrounded her, and how she pressed forward with her life; determined to not let her protector's sacrifice go in vain.

And that had covered her story up to the current day. With that, the final round of questions came.

" _So…what's your plans for your next novel? We have it on good word from your publicist and manager that it's going to be quite the ambitious read."_

" _You could say that." She had laughed, "But yes, my new novel can be considered ambitious. I want to break away from the fantasies I craft, if only for a little bit, and tell my story; about my time being held captive and then being rescued."_

" _So it's a biography?"_

" _In a manner of speaking. Yes the story will include details about my life and how I wound up in Alvarez, but I mainly want it to focus on why the insurgents singled me out, what I endured over those three weeks, and the men who risked their lives to save me along with details concerning the soldiers themselves."_

" _So does that mean you plan on interviewing the Special Forces team that rescued you?" Andrea quirked her brow._

" _That's correct. I'm working with a contact I have in the Army to help me see if it's possible to find those men, if they aren't on deployment, or help me track them down if they've since retired from the military. If that doesn't work out then…well…I have my ways."_

 _The two women shared a knowing laugh and Andrea scribbled some notes onto her legal pad._

" _What is the message you want to convey to the people who will read this book?" Andrea then asked._

" _I want it to be a message of hope, strength, and courage." She had said, "That no matter what happens, you should always hold out hope for a better tomorrow or future. That if you have a goal, you should remain steadfast in pursuing your goal and to never be afraid to take a few risks. Much like I and the soldiers who rescued me had to do. That is the message I want to create for this book."_

" _I love it already. And when can we expect to see this thriller hit the shelves?"_

" _Not anytime soon unfortunately. Like I said, I still have to get my interviews done and write it all out before I can even dream of submitting it to my publisher."_

" _Well, given your previous works, I for one believe that it'll be an insightful and gripping read and that I'll be one of the first ones in line to get my copy."_

 _She'd laughed with Andrea and the interview came to a close._

With a sigh and slight smile, she turned off her LCD TV and stared at her reflection in the screen. She didn't recognize herself for a minute as it was hard to believe that five years had already come and gone since that nightmare ended.

If someone had asked her where she thought she'd be in five years, she would have automatically told them she imagined herself becoming an intrepid reporter making it to the prime time slot and delivering breaking stories, asking the tough questions, and interviewing some of the most recognizable faces in Fiore.

She had been one of many who would have killed for the opportunities that she had been given…but the thing was, ironically, she _literally_ had killed to get where she was. Under a hail of bullets and on the run from insurgents to be precise.

…With a black clad soldier taking her by the hand the whole way, assuring her that no matter what; he'd protect her. He'd kept his promise to her; he'd gotten her out of there by the skin of her teeth. But the thing was…she didn't even know if the man was alive or dead.

And it was this unanswered question that had haunted her ever since that day.

For although it was true that she wanted to write a book about her experience, the main reason behind it all was that she wanted to figure out what happened to the special forces operator who had saved her life and if possible-provided he was still alive-properly thank him for what he did that day.

To put it all bluntly: she _needed_ answers.

 _She needed to find him._

She wouldn't be at peace until she did, nor would her curiosity for the truth be satiated.

And so with a slight groan, Lucy Heartfilia stood up from her couch and stretched her back, enjoying how her spine popped and cracked all the way before making her way to her apartment window. The high rise was one of the few things she'd spent some of her families money on, loathe as she was to admit it. On the plus side, the apartment offered a great view of the city and nearby lake. Plus the neighbors didn't stick their nose into her business all that much (for which she was grateful for).

She once again found herself staring at her reflection. Whenever she looked at herself, she didn't see a woman with beautiful, long and flowing golden blonde hair. She didn't see the soft, doe like brown eyes or the fit and curvaceous figure.

No. What she saw was a woman who had survived hell and had come out the better for it.

She was no longer the mousy, college grad turned intern who was looking to prove her worth to herself, her father, and coworkers.

She was no longer the hostage, whose neat clothes had been ruined and bloodstained while cuts and bruises covered her skin.

Now she stood tall and confident, unafraid of whatever challenge life threw at her, and determined to live her life how she wanted.

 _Lucy Heartfilia? We're here to take you home._

She sighed, heavily, and closed her eyes. It was times like this-of self-introspection-that she could recall his voice.

 _RPG; hit the deck!_

 _Take my hand and don't let go!_

 _Shh…let them pass._

 _I'd hate to tell you this but help isn't coming anytime soon. We'll have to hold up here until back up arrives._

 _Take this, it'll keep you alive. This is my sidearm; it's an FN FNX-40. It has a fifteen round magazine plus one on the pipe. That means you have sixteen, forty caliber bullets preventing you from a meeting with the almighty. Don't waste them._

 _I wouldn't expect you to know how to shoot. That's why I'm going to teach you._

 _Miss Heartfilia…Lucy…I promise you, no matter what, I'll get you home._

 _RUN, RUN! DON'T STOP!_

 _LUCY!_

The ringing of her phone startled her out of her memories and it took her a second or two to calm her heart. Walking over the coffee table, she was expecting to see the name of her manager appear on the caller ID. She had probably just seen the interview-not that she hadn't seen the final cut a thousand times already-and was more than likely hysterically raving about how great she'd been, how her fans and followers on Twitter and Facebook were going nuts, and how she already had ideas or plans for some other grand scheme of hers.

Honestly, as much as she liked that woman, she could be more than a hassle at times.

She was pleasantly surprised when she saw a different, and more welcome name appear on her phone.

"Hello Misses Redfox," Lucy answered the phone, "shouldn't you be grading spelling tests and taking care of two little rascal's right about now?"

"Oh Lu, you were wonderful!" Levy Redfox (nee McGarden) gushed, "I'm so proud of you!"

Lucy giggled, feeling the warmth of her oldest friends delight wash over her, "You really think so? I felt so awkward and out of place."

"Oh stop, you owned that interview from start to finish. The twins loved it and you even impressed Gajeel."

"My God, hell has frozen over." Lucy gasped in feigned shock, "I, Lucy Heartfilia, managed to impress big bad, grumpy Gajeel. Is this a sign of the apocalypse?"

"Oh hush, you know he likes you. You and I both know for all that blustering he does, he's a big teddy bear on the inside."

"I can hear you shrimp!" Came her husband's snarky reply in the background, followed by the delightful laughter of their twin son and daughter.

"Daddy's a teddy bear, daddy's a teddy bear!" They chanted.

"Love you too dear." Levy called pleasantly back, "Shutora, Yaje; settle down please, mommy's on the phone with Aunt Lucy."

The fracas in the background quickly quieted and Levy let out a tired, but content sigh.

"They're certainly a handful." Levy mused with a chuckle, "You know for being a kindergarten teacher, you'd think I'd be used to my house being a circus."

"You're the one with a husband, two kids, a cat, and a white picket fence, not me." Lucy quipped, earning a snigger from the both of them.

"So…is it really true? You want to find the guys who rescued you?" Levy asked.

"Yeah, it's true. I've already started on digging up some background information on the unit. Hopefully I can talk to Laxus soon about helping me get some leads."

She had wandered into her office at that point; the room in her apartment where she did the majority of her writing and news pieces. It was a slightly organized mess at this point, with her laptop and work related papers scattered across her desk while the information for the book was set atop the table that ran along the wall.

She picked up a small packet of paper that read: 777th SPECIAL FORCES REGIMENT-"THE DRAGON'S".

The unit's insignia, a shield with a dragon holding a rifle in one claw and an olive branch in the other, dominated the front page. Behind it, all the relative information she had so far gathered on the unit.

"I already know what I'm looking for but I need more than what I've gathered from online and in books…and the occasional internet forum." She added with a sheepish smile.

"Laxus? As in your cousin who's in the Army? He's that source you were talking about on TV?" Levy asked.

"Bingo." Lucy said with a pop of her lips.

"You really think he'll help you. Isn't he, like, kind of an ass?"

"He's an ass, but he's a loveable ass." Lucy sighed, "Kind of like Gajeel."

"…Not going to argue that one." Levy chuckled.

"But honestly Lucy, won't Laxus get into trouble for helping you? I mean, if he does agree to help you that is."

"I never revealed my source." Lucy smirked, "As far as the Army knows, I'm talking to someone in their ranks and they have no idea who that may be."

"It won't take them long to figure it out," Levy countered, "they have people who specialize in that sort of thing; scary people, if I might add."

"Which is why the quicker he helps me, the lesser the risk of his superiors finding out. Honestly Lev, the man has been in the Army for half his life; he's bound to have worked with these spec ops guys at some point. He has to know _something_."

Levy sighed again, "You're not backing down on this aren't you?"

"When have I ever done that?"

"If you get into trouble for this, I never heard a peep from you." Levy added.

"My lips are sealed." Lucy said with a smile.

"Good…you really have your heart set on finding this guy, don't you?"

Lucy smiled softly, absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"I have to know Levy. Dead or alive, one way or another, I have to know. I owe everything to him."

"Do you think he's alive?" Levy asked.

She paused for a moment, remembering how torn up he had been the last time she'd seen him; the blood that seeped and spilled from his wounds; how his comrades frantically worked to save his life; and how even near death…his hand still sought her out, fingers clawing at the dirt as he tried to finder her.

It was this image that always helped reaffirm her resolve.

"I don't think Levy…I _know_ he's alive." Lucy said with conviction.

"…Then I know you'll find him Lucy." Lucy could hear the smile in her friend's voice, "Just be careful. And keep me posted, alright?"

"You know it."

"And we really need to meet up sometime soon, it's been ages!"

Lucy gave a hearty chuckle, nodding her head in agreement, "I know, I know; soon…I promise."

"I'll hold you to that."

The two women shared a laugh before bidding one another a good night. Lucy smiled as she stared at Levy's picture in the caller ID. If there was one person she could always count on in this world-aside from her late mother and a select group of friends-it was Levy. They had first met when they were in grade school and they had remained as thick as thieves ever since.

Which made it all the more better in knowing that there was someone else out there who knew how important her personal search was.

She traced her fingers across the dragon insignia on the packet, a sad but fond smile gracing her lips.

" _What is your name?" She had asked him._

"… _Salamander." He had said, "They call me Salamander."_

"Soon…" she whispered to herself, "soon."

The ringing of her phone brought her back to reality once more. Glancing down at it, she double blinked before letting out a nervous, heavy sigh.

It was her manager, at long last.

Knowing she couldn't postpone the inevitable, Lucy swiped the answer icon and braced herself for what was to come.

"…Hi Edna." Lucy said tentatively before her eardrums were ruptured for the night.

" _DARLING!"_

XXXX

" _Are you sure this thing doesn't look too bulky on me?" Lucy asked, adjusting the chinstrap on her PASGT helmet before fiddling with her low set ponytail._

 _It was a rather beat up looking thing, given to her by the studio back home, that seemed to have weathered its fair share of storms. The same went for the Kevlar vest she had been given too. The only thing that set them apart from the military models was that they were painted peacekeeper blue and had the words "PRESS" printed on them in big, bold letters._

" _You look fine Lucy." Jason smiled, pushing up the brim of his own helmet as he brought the camera up to his eye, adjusting the lens._

" _I think the people back home will take you looking like a tank over getting blown up any day."_

" _You really need to work on your bedside manner, you know that right." She deadpanned._

 _Jason simply grinned as he took a wide panning shot of the soldiers escorting the two of them along with the armored personnel carrier they had been traveling in._

 _Jason was the only guy she knew at the studio who was the right level of crazy to have volunteered to go along with her to Alvarez. No one back home wanted to come near this country and had called her bat shit insane for even thinking of wanting to go in the first place._

 _She didn't blame them._

 _The Alvarez Empire dominated the western continent of Alakitasia and was regarded as one of the premier superpowers in the world with one of the largest standing armies on record. However, this factor didn't mean that life was easy in Alvarez. With most of its economy devoted to maintaining its military and defense spending, money and resources were always being diverted in one form or another away from the civilian population and programs that would benefit them._

 _This had led to internal strife amongst the empire with various insurgent groups forming and then plaguing the military and populace in an attempt to overthrow the government. Over the years, the Alvarez military had done a fairly good job of eradicating the rebellions and maintaining peace and order._

 _But over the last decade, one insurgent group had risen to become the premier threat to Alvarez government. Phantom Lord had started out small but through negotiations with other insurgent groups or the violent killing of said groups, Phantom Lord had shown the government that they were a force to be reckoned with._

 _They were vicious, and as it seemed, they were everywhere._

 _From their hit and run tactics, their brutal treatment of civilians, to even the kidnaping and killing of foreigners, Phantom Lord would stop at nothing until Alvarez was theirs._

 _Things had gotten so bad that with their overseas assets and citizens being targeted and killed in some cases, the various nations of Ishgar had deployed military peacekeeping forces to help Alvarez combat Phantom Lord and ensure stability remained in the empire._

 _Although the capital city of Vistarion was well defended, it was towns, villages, and small cities like the one Lucy currently found herself in where the fighting was at its fiercest. You either had to be incredibly brave, stupid, or military and police if you decided to take a walk in one of these places as fighting could break out at any minute._

 _And in Lucy's mind, it had been too great of an issue-of a story-not to ignore. She had been with the studio for only a year and was only now just being allowed in front of a camera; her intern status still following her around like the plague. But she had been dogged in wanting to make a name for herself and show that she had the right stuff for the job._

 _It had been like pulling teeth, but she finally convinced the studio to let her cover the fighting. She had managed to convince the higher ups that with no foreign news station covering the fighting, there was an opportunity for the studio to strike it big with the coverage. They'd have exclusive interviews, footage that no one else got to see, and recognition for bringing the fighting to the public's awareness. And, possibly even, investors._

 _And Channel Five would be at the center of it all._

 _Sure it was slightly more underhanded than she would have liked-riskier even-but if there was one thing Lucy had learned from her father, it was that some of the biggest risks had the biggest payoffs in the end._

 _And payoff it did. She'd one over the execs and after a rather lengthy wait, they gave her a press badge, a waiver to sign from the studio, clearance from Fiore's Ministry of Defense and the Alvarez government, and then off she was sent with Jason in tow._

 _Upon arrival in Alvarez, Lucy had expected to immediately be sent to where the action was. Instead, she was given a protective detail that took her and Jason to where some of the recent battles had long since ended. It was a bit relieving, knowing she wasn't going to me shot at-yet-but at the same time, a part of her desired to capture the fighting first hand and deliver the gritty intensity she had promised the studio._

 _This had gone on for the last seven weeks and today was proving to be no different. The only change being was that her protective detail was meeting up with another squad outside the local government house in order to conduct a security sweep of the town._

" _Alright, we're all set. You ready?" Jason asked as he focused the camera on Lucy._

 _Lucy took a quick look at the notes she had in her hand along with the script she had prepared and took a calming breath._

" _Ready." She said with a confident smile. Jason gave her a thumbs up._

" _We are live in three…two…one…action."_

" _This is Lucy Heartfilia reporting to you live from the Eastern Provincial Government House in the Alvarez Empire. Behind me stands one of the last vestiges of law and order in this region of the Empire as government troops and law enforcement work tirelessly to combat the terrorist group known as Phantom Lord. " Lucy began, making sure to keep her voice level and in control._

 _She never got the next sentence out of her mouth as a series of high pitched shrieks filled the air._

" _Mortars!" An Alvarez solider cried out, "Take cover!"_

 _Neither Lucy nor Jason had time to react as there was a deafening cacophony of thunder and an overwhelming wave of pressure as the two of them were knocked off their feet. They rolled on the ground for a minute before coming to a stop. Her ears were ringing and her head throbbed. It took her longer than she thought it would have, but Lucy slowly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. Blinking slowly, she began to look around her._

 _Jason lay on his back, looking winded and confused, but otherwise seemed okay. He was already pushing himself up on his elbows._

 _Smoke and dust filled the air along with the caustic scent of burning flesh. There was another explosion, just down the street, and she looked to her right in time to see the APC erupt into a ball of flame as the Alvarez troops scrambled for cover next to the nearby buildings._

 _Looking to her left, she saw a series of smoking impact craters a few dozen yards away. The mortars, she realized, along with the bodies ringed around them; the soldier she had been traveling with. Most of them had been perforated with shrapnel, their bodies ripped open and lying at odd angels. One soldier had lost his head, another was missing from the waist down, while for one…all that was left was his arm._

 _For the others, all that remained were bloody smears in the street._

 _One soldier, bleeding profusely, was still alive and weakly calling for help; his voice lost in the sounds of the battle that had erupted around them. She and Jason had just stood, ready to run to the soldiers aid when out of the haze, three men emerged wearing bandanas to hide their faces and brandishing AK-47 assault rifles._

" _Phantom Lord!" Jason had gasped as one of the men emptied his rifle's magazine into the dying soldier, ending his suffering._

 _They then set their sights on Jason and Lucy. The second soldier raised his rifle and fired a short burst; Jason screamed and fell to the ground, one hand clutching his stomach while the other his leg._

" _Jason!" Lucy screamed just as the insurgents descended upon them. She felt a sharp pain as an insurgent hit her upside the head with his rifle. Her helmet was knocked loose and she tasted copper in her mouth as she hit the ground, watching as one of the insurgents violently kicked Jason in the head._

 _The first insurgent slung his weapon and hauled her to her feet, grappling with her arms as she deftly tried to break away._

 _And then it all began to dawn on her: she was being kidnapped._

 _Captured._

 _Taken hostage._

 _It all instantly brought her world back into focus and made her adrenaline surge. Her fight or flight response came to life. She kicked out her foot on instinct, nailing the man right in the groin and bringing him to his knees as he let out a stream of curse laden profanities._

 _She turned to run, not sure where she was to go, only knowing that she had to get away. But the third insurgent was quick to react and lashed out with the butt of his rifle, hitting her in the back and knocking her down. She scrambled on the ground, trying to clamber away but all too quickly her arms were wrenched behind her back and she was forcefully hauled to her feet once more._

" _Let go of me!" Lucy cried out as she struggled against the insurgents grip, "No! Let go!"_

 _The insurgent finally wrapped his arms around her, restraining her. No matter how hard she kicked and struggled, it did nothing to free her._

" _JASON!" She screamed, "JASON HELP!"_

" _Shut your mouth you stupid bitch!" Her assailant snarled as his partner, now recovered from his kick to the balls, roughly shoved a chloroform rag over her nose and mouth. The world began to spin and fade away. She could faintly hear Jason still calling out to her._

" _LUCY!" His voice echoed out, "LUCY!"_

 _LUCY!_

And with a gasp of fright, Lucy bolted awake-upright-in bed.

Her breathing was fast and shallow, a cold sweat running in rivulets down her skin, while her body trembled with the memory of her capture still fresh in her mind's eye. There was no time to catch her breath as she felt her bile quickly rise. Slapping her hand over her mouth, she scrambled out of bed and into the adjoining bathroom to her room.

After a while, her violent retching ceased and she rested her forehead against the cool porcelain of her toilet. Her trembling had died down to only the shaking of her hands and legs and Lucy numbly stood, flushing the toilet as she did so.

She stared at herself in the mirror, noting how much of a disheveled mess her nightmare had left her. Her skin still felt cold and clammy, her hair was matted to her skin, and she just looked tired. Even after all the therapy and medication her father had put her through, the nightmares were still as strong as ever.

It wasn't always this bad. Sometimes it was worse or mild depending what triggered it. A certain sound would make her twitch sharply or other times the memories would become so strong that the moment she got home from work, she'd shut down for an hour or two before she was able to function again.

 _Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder_ , her doctor had called it. She'd heard about it before with cases ranging from accident victims to soldiers returning home from combat. But she never thought she'd be one to endure it like so many others and her respect ran deep for those who struggled with PTSD.

She sighed heavily and stripped out of her sweat soaked pajamas, turning on the shower faucet until the bathroom was filled with steam. She let out a pleased sigh, however, when she stepped under the showerhead and let the hot water cascade down her body. She then sat down and simply let the water soothe her shaking away and warm her from the outside in.

Showers, she had found, were her way of coping with the nightmares. No matter what, the water seemed to wash away her pain and cleanse her, if only for a little while. But, it was enough for her.

Running her hand through her hair, Lucy let her hand trail down and across her shoulder and leg, her fingers brushing over the now smooth gunshot wounds, before finally tailing along her stomach where the healed knife wound was. Another inch and she would have had to have her right kidney removed. She just thanked whatever deity was watching over her that the woman who had tended to her afterwards was able to properly clean and stitch the wound and secretly sneak her some medicine.

"I wonder if your scars have healed…" She mused aloud, thinking of Salamander, "Or if they're always with you, like me."

 _Do you wake up in the night, sacred and frightened from your nightmares?_

 _Did you have trouble readjusting to everything?_

 _Do you think of me and wonder if I'm doing alright?_

 _Did you…not make it after all?_

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She wouldn't dare think of the possibility of him being dead. Like she had told Levy, she knew he was alive…somewhere, out there.

Standing and turning off the water, finally feeling relaxed, Lucy braced her arms against the wall and let the water drip off her body, still basking in the last remnant of steam.

Soon, she'd begin her search for Salamander.

Soon, she'd have her answers.

XXXX

The day had started off rather well.

Despite the episode she'd had the night before, Lucy had awoken well rested and in a good mood. She'd gone for her usual morning run the park and had broken her previous time by eight minutes; when she returned home and made breakfast she didn't burn her omelet like she usually did; and she even managed to pick out the perfect outfit on her first try.

After that, she gathered up all her information on the 777th, hopped into her mother's candy apple red 1970 Chevelle SS, and made a trip to the library downtown. Being a reporter granted her special access to the libraries more restricted online databases and she was going to use the hell out of them to get every shred of info she could find; God bless the freedom of information act!

She spent a majority of the afternoon looking up the unit's history, their known missions, force deployments, notable appearances or references in media, who had interviewed unit members and command staff, and so on and so forth. She was surprised by the limited amount of information she was able to come up with.

According to what she learned, the 777th Special Forces Regiment had been created during the last Great War when Fiore and the Pergrande Kingdom were going head to head and the need for specialized units arose to strike hard at enemy forces. After three years of brutal fighting, the Regiment had established itself as Fiore's premier Special Forces unit and had helped play a decisive role in forcing Pergrande to peace talks after several, devastating raids into Pergrande territory.

Since then, the Regiment had served in every major conflict and peacekeeping action over the last sixty years. But that was all that Lucy was able to gather. Sure she had seen the units name pop up every now and then in an old newspaper article or online source, but for the most part, 777th was one of the Army's best kept open secrets. She couldn't even find a casualty listing for the unit, their actual unit strength and size, nor where their home base was located.

Hell, the only reason she knew to look at the 777th in the first place was because she recognized the unit insignia Salamander had worn on his uniform when she had been browsing the web one night!

All she had to show for her research was what anyone could find in a military history book. She needed solid leads; she needed to talk with people who served in the unit or knew people who served. Which was why at some point during the coming week, she was going to harass Laxus until he agreed to help her…if he could for that matter. He would probably tell her to leave him or call her something rather colorful. And she would in turn threaten to tell Grandpa Makarov about what had happened at last year's family Halloween party. Or if she really wanted to make the man squirm, she would threaten to tell Makarov the truth about what Laxus had done to his beloved Land Rover.

It was a foolproof plan, Lucy thought with a devious smirk. Underhanded, cruel even? Yes. Would she actually go through with it? No. For all their bickering over the years, Laxus had been the closest thing she had to a brother growing up and she would never break a promise made to him. But that didn't stop her from scaring him every now and then…like any good "sibling" should.

With that in mind, Lucy decided to call it a day. She sighed heavily as she left the library, deciding to run out to do some quick errands before getting a bite to eat.

Fate, however, had other plans in the form of a rather nasty pot hole.

She had tried to avoid it, but the bane of every traffic goer's existence proved to ever be wicked as ever when her front tire dipped sharply in and out of the hole with a heavy, metallic "CLANG!"

"That sounded expensive." Lucy grimaced, sucking in air through her teeth, as her car began to make all kinds of weird noises while listing to the right.

Parking to the side of the street, Lucy got out and inspected her car. After a quick assessment that certain parts shouldn't be where they were, Lucy dug out her phone and pulled up Gajeel's number. One of the perks of being friends with Levy was that Gajeel, who worked and ran his own auto body shop, was usually on hand to help her with whatever car trouble she may have and that as a "family/friend referral" she got a discount on her repair bill.

"Redfox Automotive, Gajeel speaking." Gajeel grunted upon answering the phone.

"Hi Gajeel, its Lucy, sorry to bother you."

Gajeel sighed heavily and muttered something under his breath, "What is it this time bunny girl?"

"I hit a pot hole and my car is all messed up, can you come take a look at it?"

"Where're ya at?" Gajeel sighed. She could imagine him rolling his eyes right about now.

"At the corner of East Gate and Magnolia Drive."

"I'll be out there in thirty minutes with the two truck. This better be important unlike the last time."

"I told you, I'm not good with cars!" Lucy whined, "How was I supposed to know that it needed an oil change!?"

Gajeel ended the call there and left Lucy to stew in her embarrassment. But, true to his word, Gajeel arrived when he said he would. After taking a look at the pot hole that Lucy had hit, he made a quick call to a friend of his in city maintenance, before coming back to inspect her car.

He let out a low whistle when he saw the damage, "How old is this thing?"

"My mother had it for years and kept it in practically mint condition. She loved this thing and made sure it was always in tip top shape…why?" She replied.

"This shouldn't have happened if the car was in as good condition as you say it is; something's wrong with this car. Either way, I'll bring 'er in."

"Thank you Gajeel." Lucy sighed with a grateful smile. Gajeel simply gave a dismissive wave.

"Ah, don't sweat it. If I didn't help ya, Shrimp would've never let me hear the end of it. Besides, I'm glad you didn't flip your car on that damn pot hole or things could've gotten worse."

"Yeah, there's always that." Lucy swallowed hard with a weak smile, dreading the idea of her starting or dying in a pile up.

From there, Gajeel set her car onto the flatbed of his tow truck and gave her a ride to his shop. It was a larger, more modern shop compared to the one he and his dad used to work out of on the old side of the city. Now, instead of being crammed into a small garage with only one or two other workers on hand to help, Gajeel managed and worked in a shop that could service up to seven cars at a time with a fully staffed team. It was a success story that was news worthy, Lucy mused with a slight smirk. Gajeel would never agree to an interview however; he'd just as soon rip the camera apart than do such a thing.

Parking the truck outside the shop, Gajeel gestured for Lucy to follow him.

"I'll have one of my best take a look at yer car." Gajeel said over the din of power tools and machinery, "I haven't met a busted car he hasn't been able to fix."

They soon came to a sedan that was raised just slightly off the floor. Beneath it, a man lay on his back as he worked on the underside of the car. His foot tapped to the beat of a nearby radio that was blastingmusic by _Disturbed_ ; it was a miracle he heard anything at all given all the noise that filled the shop.

"Natsu." Gajeel said, raising his voice more than he already had.

The man didn't respond. He kept tapping his foot and working on his project.

"Natsu!" Gajeel said again and still got no response. He began to growl in frustration and Lucy took that as her cue to back away.

"Hey dumbass!"

Gajeel kicked the radio away-silencing it-before slamming his fist down upon the hood of the car; hard. The man beneath the car gave a startled cry, lurching up and summarily hitting his head on either a pipe or the undercarriage if the heavy "THUD" and "CLANG" were anything to go by.

"AGH! MOTHERFUCKER!" Natsu cried out in pain as he shoved himself out from underneath the sedan.

"What the fuck's your problem man!? I was right in the middle of my favorite song and then you come slamming your fist down on my project like it's your old fucking drum set, what the hell!?"

Gajeel cleared his throat and pointed to Lucy. Natsu followed the extended digit and when his eyes landed on her, he blanched in a mixture of surprise and embarrassment.

"Uhm…hello." Lucy gave an apprehensive smile.

Natsu scrambled to his feet and quickly wiped his hands on his coveralls, calling himself an idiot all the while under his breathe. Now that he was standing, Lucy was able to get a better look at Natsu. He was tall, broad shouldered, and his messy hair was long enough that it could be tied back into a short ponytail. He also had the most unusual hair color she had ever seen; she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen someone with salmon pink hair.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea you were there; I swear it." Natsu apologized, the frantic look on his face making Lucy giggle.

"Is this how your workers deal with all your customers, Gajeel?" Lucy teased. The man simply pinched his brow and gave a haggard sigh.

"Lucy, this is Natsu Dragneel; my cousin. Natsu, this is Lucy Heartfilia."

"I know who you are." Natsu smiled, making Lucy furrow her brow slightly. Had they met before? She thought she'd remember meeting someone as…"vibrant" as Natsu.

"You're Lucy Heartfilia; everyone knows who you are." Natsu continued, extending his hand to her, "I see you on the TV all the time and my mom and sister love reading your books."

"Oh, right!" Lucy answered quickly and shook Natsu's hand, "Sorry, I forget that I'm a bit of local celebrity."

"I saw that interview of yours last night; you're a remarkable woman." Natsu said with a wide smile.

Lucy averted her eyes in slight embarrassment, still not truly used to receiving such praise even after five years.

"Thank you…" She said before looking to Gajeel, "Your cousin, you said?"

"Yep." Natsu and Gajeel answered together with Natsu pointing his thumb between the two of them, "Can't you see the family resemblance?"

"…Not really, no." Lucy deadpanned.

Natsu gave Gajeel an incredulous look but the man simply rolled his eyes and flicked Natsu on the forehead, making him wince sharply.

"C'mon. I've got a new job for you, courtesy of Miss Heartfilia here." Gajeel said, making Natsu raise his brows at the challenging tone in Gajeel's voice.

"Can he fix my car Gajeel?" Lucy asked. If she lost her mother's car, she was pretty sure she would literally lose her mind. That Chevelle was one of the few things she had left of her mother and she was not keen on losing it.

"If it's broke, odds are Natsu'll either fix it or make it worse than it already is." Gajeel said with a slight cackle, making Natsu roll his eyes.

"That's not very comforting." Lucy swallowed hard.

"It was one time you ass." Natsu grumbled, "One time. And you know I was just starting to get back into the swing of things."

"More like twelve times, plus the added property damage." Gajeel continued to smirk.

"Can we just look at this damn car, please!?" Natsu growled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. This only served to make Gajeel cackle harder as he led Natsu and Lucy back outside. Natsu let out a low whistle when he laid eyes on the Chevelle, an appreciative smile on his lips.

"A 1970 Chevelle SS; one of my many dream cars." Natsu glanced at Lucy, "You've got good taste."

"You can thank my mother for that." Lucy quipped with a smile as Natsu hopped up onto the flatbed as Gajeel pointed out the obvious and not so obvious damage. Natsu gave a dubious smirk as he looked from Lucy's car and back to her.

"What'd you do, go over too many speedbumps in pursuit of your next big story?" He sniggered.

Lucy puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, "Oh as if! If you must know, I hit a pot hole on my way to the store."

Natsu's smirk slowly diminished as he blinked in thought before looking to Gajeel with his brow furrowed; confusion plainly written on his face.

"A pot hole did that?" He asked, pointing to the busted tire and axel.

"Yep." Gajeel said with a pop of his lips, before giving a rough depth guess with his hands, "About this deep."

"Odd, that shouldn't have happened." Natsu frowned, tapping the metal of the car with his knuckle.

"I mean, this car looks pretty well maintained and these old cars are built like tanks."

"I said the same thing, which I is why I'm letting you handle this. All bunny girl and I need to know is can you fix it?" Gajeel asked.

"Of course I can fix it, I'm not one of those schmucks from Quatro Cerberus." Natsu rolled his eyes, "You and Gajeel can work out a payment when I'm finished. Speaking of which, when do you need this back?" Natsu turned to Lucy while Gajeel sauntered back into the shop.

"As soon as possible if you're able to, please. This is the only car I own and I practically drive everywhere in it." Lucy said, nervously twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

Natsu hummed in thought, tapping his chin as he did so. He studied the damage for several moments before he looked over his shoulder with a grin on his lips.

"I can have this baby back in action by tomorrow morning, I guarantee it." He said with surety. Lucy arched her brow, surprised by Natsu's optimism and confidence.

"Tomorrow? Are you sure about that?" She asked, incredulous, "I mean…look at it! The right side is a complete mess. You really expect me to believe you can have it fixed by tomorrow?"

"Nothing I haven't seen before." Natsu smirked gesturing to the shop, "Ask anyone around here and they'll tell you that I can make any car work like its brand new in no time."

"Really?" Lucy smirked, crossing her arms, "'Like its brand new' you say?"

"Really; I have the magic touch." Natsu countered with a toothy grin and wiggled his fingers playfully.

"I bet you do." Lucy smirked with a role of her eyes. She watched as Natsu began to methodically inspect her car, muttering to himself about what needed to be fixed and how he was going to fix it.

Occasionally, he'd look up from his work and give her a bright smile. Lucy gave a smile of her own and found that in spite of herself, despite Natsu's obvious quirkiness, there was something…comforting about him.

Whether it was the comfort in knowing that he wouldn't destroy her car or another matter entirely, Lucy couldn't say.

All she knew was that there was just _something_ about Natsu Dragneel that she liked.

XXXX

A/N: So…? What do you guys think? Is this story off to a good start? This chapter was mainly just character and world building, so I apologize if there was an information overload at some points.

So, to start things off, we're introduced to Lucy and Natsu and the alluded events of five years prior. We know what happened…but we don't know how it all happened. Which means everyone's favorite word: flashbacks! When it comes to flashbacks, I'll do my best to even them out so we get the right mix between the past and the present along with more than Lucy's point of view as she interacts with Natsu and searches for the elusive Salamander.

I know some things may seem clearly obvious…but, at the same time, don't you love a story where the reader knows something that the characters don't and you just want them to figure things out so badly? Yeah, this is that kind of story…where things build up until the truth is ultimately revealed in its entirety.

On a quick side note: do I feel bad for putting that "Edna" reference in there as an attempt at humor? No. No I do not. The opportunity was too good to pass up and I couldn't resist! Don't worry, this'll probably be one of the only times I mention her by name so don't expect much more.

As far as updating this story goes…I'm not sure to be honest. I'll be starting a new job soon so I imagine things are going to be a bit crazy for me as I adjust to my new schedule. The good news however, is that with this new job being full time, I'll have a fixed schedule once again and that should help me in planning out my writing time and staying organized.

But, as always with me, I just have to let these things play out and see what life has in store for me next.

In the meantime, I'm going to work on finishing up the double update I have planned for "Vendetta" and then I'm going to finish off "Business and Pleasure." After that, I'll working on updating "Vice", "Songs From the Sea", and "Between Light and Shadow". I may also devote some time to something else I may have or not have in the works but we'll see how things are going for that.

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! I'm still alive and still kicking!

I want to take a moment to apologize for apparently being dead to the world for almost a year or so now and I have a perfectly reasonable excuse as to why this happened: _**I got a full time job.**_ Right at the end of this past August I was quickly hired on as a security guard and have been working as such since. I originally started out working third shift (midnight to eight) but have now transferred to first shift (morning to late afternoon). I've also had to deal with being forced to take overtime which is…a lot, as we're shorthanded most of the time. But hopefully with my switch to first I should be able to get some semblance of a normality back and I might be able to write at a more consistent pace.

It has been a tiring job and it's really cut into my free/writing time, so hence my absence. But, a full time job means full time responsibilities. I have been writing and working on things…just at half the amount that I'm used to because I'm drained most of the time, so I apologize if I'm a little rusty.

To those of you who read and follow my writing, I just want to let you all know that words can't describe how grateful I am for your patience and understanding. I can't make any promises about my writing being updated regularly but I'm not giving up on it and I'm going to continue to write for as long as I'm able to.

So, with that out of the way, back to the story at hand. Last chapter introduced us to Lucy, her turbulent past, and the implied mystery and connection to Natsu, the quirky mechanic whose been tasked to fix her late mother's vintage car. I was very pleased and surprised by the feedback this story has gotten and I'm very grateful that you're all enjoying this story so much.

It's funny, when I think of how I originally wanted this story to go. I originally had plans to write this as a big, military epic but when I began to do my research and plan out how I wanted the story to go…I realized that I'd be getting into almost Tom Clancy levels of detail and pretty much over my head. So I scrapped the idea and decided to go with something a little smaller and something I was more familiar/comfortable with. And here we are, LOL.

As usual, before we continue, here is a shout out to those of you who left a review last time around. I've been pleasantly surprised by the amount of feedback the first chapter has gotten and I'm glad to know so many of you have enjoyed the start of things. But, since a lot of you guys reviewed I can't address you individually like I tend to. But, please know, I do read every review I get:

 _ **Nightside14, Kauia, Snavej, Morenoel, Guest, Guest, Dark Mystique, SulliMike23, FlameDragonHime, J Luc Pitard, silver light of dawn, Jelasy, Bakers28, Juvia is my spirit animal, Mezatron, Donthedarkdragon26, tonialla, sonikastalker, Persians2.0, Terra of Life, Guest, SleepinBeautyK, ChasingMoonlightFire, Guest, BomBardaa, MotherOfDragons1227, honeybadger894, justanextra, Guest.**_

Without further ado, let's continue our story shall we?

XXXX

CHAPTER 2

XXXX

 _The kitchen window and the walls around it were blasted to pieces as the 14.5mm rounds tore through the wood; showering them with glass, splinters, and drywall. Lucy screamed, hands flying to cover her head and nearly dropped his sidearm. He pulled her close, shielding her as he swore a series of expletives._

" _We're trapped!" Lucy sobbed, "We're trapped!"_

 _The cannon fire ceased and he quickly popped up to return fire; not planning on hitting anyone but more as an act of defiance to make some heads duck down. And there, just a few dozen yards away, was the technical that had been firing on them. The barrels of the anti-aircraft cannon were smoking and the gunners were working quickly to reload._

 _He reacted just as quickly. He raised his F90-his trigger finger moving to his grenade launchers-and quickly eyeballed the distance. The under barrel launcher jerked the rifle against his shoulder as he fired his last 40mm grenade._

 _A second or so later, the high explosive round struck the gun dead on. He hadn't expected a direct hit, but then again, he wasn't complaining about the end result. The grenade blew apart the barrels, cooked off the ammunition, and combined together; the three man crew were blown off it. One lay on the ground, screaming as he gripped the stub that was now his arm; the second one desperately clutched at his neck as blood spurted past his fingers; the third, the gunner, lay on his back-dead-with his face missing._

 _There was a pause from both sides before machine gun fire raked above his head and he dropped back down._

" _I took out that gun but there's still plenty more of them out there." He grunted._

" _That doesn't change the fact that we're still trapped in here!" Lucy said back, her eyes wide in fear and desperation._

 _He squeezed her shoulder and bit his lip in thought. An idea suddenly formed in his head._

" _...Maybe not." He said._

 _They now had a slight window of escape and he had an idea. He peeked his head up, quickly eyed the field across from the house and saw that it was empty. And so was the tree line beyond it._

" _Alright, I have an idea." He said, "Do you remember the field that's just across the driveway from here?"_

" _Y-Yeah." Lucy nodded, swallowing hard._

" _It's empty and it provides a direct line to the woods. We're going to make a break for it; it's our only way out of here."_

" _How? They're just going to shoot us the minute we get out of here." Lucy said, pointing to the front of the house._

 _He looked back to what remained of the front door. The claymore had certainly done a number on it. Only the hinges remained…along with the bloodied and torn remains of the insurgents who had rushed the door and kicked it in. He looked back to Lucy and shook his head._

" _Not if we have some cover; something to distract them long enough for us to run." He said as he ejected the spent 40mm shell from the under barrel launcher. He produced a new grenade from a pouch and did the same for a cylindrical shaped grenade._

" _These are smoke grenades. When they go off, they produce thick clouds of smoke that can blanket a small area. Combined together, we should have enough cover to reach the field and will have hopefully put some distance between us and them."_

 _Both of them jerked as a new bracket of bullets rained splinters down upon them._

" _Are you sure this will work?" Lucy asked._

" _No, but as of right now, it's the best that I can come up with."_

 _Voices echoed outside, calling for troops to move in and storm the house._

" _Do you trust me?" He asked, looking Lucy square in the eyes._

 _Lucy swallowed hard but nodded her head without hesitation, "Yes."_

 _He squeezed her shoulder one last time, resting his helmet against her forehead, "We're going to make it out of here; I promise."_

" _Get ready." He said, loading the 40mm grenade…before popping up quickly to fire the smoke grenade and then just as quickly pulling the pin and lobbing the second grenade by hand out the now shattered window._

 _White smoke quickly began to fill the air, obscuring the front of the house from their attackers._

" _On three." He said, gripping Lucy's hand tightly, "One…two…THREE!"_

 _And together, they bolted for the door and outside, the smoke engulfing them as they did._

XXXX

For Natsu Dragneel, the morning started out as it always did: he awoke at twilight with a slight jolt, roused from his sleep by his dreams and the irritating "beeping" of his alarm clock.

He double blinked to let his mind clear, glared at the infernal device, and promptly slammed his fist down upon it; shutting the damn thing up while rousing Happy and Plue from their sleep.

Happy-his blue Scottish Fold-gave a slightly miffed "merow" while Plue-his white pit bull-was startled to the point that the poor dog crawled under the quilt. For such a big dog, Natsu had found that Plue was the biggest baby he'd ever met. Natsu smirked at his two pets and after hauling himself out of bed, greeted the two with a scratch behind the ears.

As part of his routine, Natsu started his morning off with a workout; calisthenics followed by a run through the nearby park with Plue, his ever faithful running mate. Although it was frowned upon, Natsu always did his workout shirtless as he never saw a problem doing so. Considering the local college sports teams always ran their annual "naked mile" through the park, he couldn't for the life of him understand how that was deemed acceptable while running with your shirt off was not.

At least when he'd been in the military things had been cut and dry. He knew the rules and how far he could push them. Outside of the military, everything blurred together to the point that on some days Natsu thought people overreacted to the littlest things…him running without a shirt on, for example. Not that his fellow runners were complaining; he'd often caught the lingering glances of plenty of women (and a few men) whenever he was out and about. Of course Plue never gave him the chance to do the same; the dog practically dragged him from Point A to Point B with all the strength of a supercharged battle tank. There was no stopping Plue.

With his workout complete, he'd return home to a steam bath hot shower and took his time with rinsing off. His hands always stilled when they passed over an old scar-a bullet wound, a surgical mark, a shrapnel scar-and he would remember how he got each and every one of them. His hands always seemed to linger on the "X" shaped scar near his hips. If he really thought about it, he could almost imagine the searing pain the mortar shrapnel had left as it hurled him through the air…a woman screaming in his arms as they tumbled on the ground…

Luckily, before he became too far gone, Plue acted as a saving grace, pawing at the bathroom door and barking: his way of demanding breakfast.

Once toweled off and dressed in a pair of clothes he didn't mind getting dirty (which was pretty much all of his wardrobe), Natsu made breakfast for himself, Plue and Happy. He switched on the news, got caught up on what was going on in the world and caught the traffic report. He then tossed the dishes in the sink, donned his work coveralls, and grabbed his backpack.

When all was said and done, he left his comfortable little townhouse to hop in his dad's old pickup and made the forty minute commute from the suburbs to the city.

Aside from Gajeel, he was usually one of the first to arrive at "REDFOX AUTOMOTIVE". It had been one of the conditions Gajeel had made for him when he gave Natsu the job at his shop; he was making an exception because he was family but in turn, because _he was family_ , he had to be the first one on with Gajeel and the last one to leave. Family was family but Gajeel was his father's son; he never gave special treatment.

Traffic was usually light in the mornings and he left home early enough to beat rush hour. And sure enough, when he arrived at the auto shop, Gajeel's SUV was parked in the employee lot across the street. He parked beside Gajeel's car, took the time to draw a smiley face in the dust on the window, and jogged across the street. Gajeel was in the office, the phone resting in the crook of his neck while he went over some paperwork. The man spared Natsu a quick nod as he passed and Natsu gave him a quick wave in turn. He then tossed his backpack in his locker and checked the roster for what his tasks for the day were.

A typical morning.

…Or, it would have been a typical morning if not for one major difference.

Lucy Heartfilia was coming to the shop to collect her car.

The same Lucy Heartfilia that was on the news.

The same Lucy Heartfilia who he had rescued five years ago from Phantom Lord Insurgents in Alvarez.

It had taken all of his willpower to maintain his composure when he had seen her-in person-for the first time in five years. Of all the people to walk into his cousin's shop, it had to be her. He'd nearly had a heart attack when he slid out from beneath the car he'd been working on and saw her standing over him, eyebrows raised and an amused smile on her lips. His training had kicked in immediately and he acted as a complete stranger towards her.

It had been surreal, to say the least.

Even as he looked over her car from the tow truck, his eyes would sneak a glance or two at her. She had changed since they'd last met and for the better he'd say. It was one thing to see her on the news or on the back page of a book, it was another to see her in the flesh once more; to see the confidence she radiated. She wasn't the scarred and beaten news reporter he'd rescued from a dark basement. She was a confidant woman who wasn't afraid to take on life and the world.

Natsu sighed as he entered the shop floor and walked over to his workstation, turning on his beat up radio and filling the space with hard rock.

Speaking of her car, Lucy's beloved Chevelle SS certainly had a number done on it and he'd worked late into the night fixing it. The car had been well maintained just as Lucy had said, but what she hadn't counted on was a small amount of rust that had eaten its way through the bolts that held the axle to the front passenger tire. It had been easy to miss and all it had taken was a hit from a pothole to cause the rust to fall apart and the axle to dislodge.

Luckily for both him and Lucy, it was a manageable fix and he was glad that Gajeel kept a surplus of replacement parts on hand. After that, he felt like going the extra mile for Lucy, giving the car a tire rotation along with an oil change. With any luck, the old muscle car would be running for a while longer.

But, so absorbed had he been in his work, thoughts, and music that he hardly noticed his coworkers enter the shop.

He'd been so absorbed that he had hardly noticed _her_.

Out of his peripheral he saw a flash of gold and when he turned to look, Lucy Heartfilia was leaning up against his work bench, a pleasant smile on her lips. She was dressed smartly in a navy blue suit, her hair done up in an elegant knot, and just the right amount of makeup on to make her look stunning.

Natsu gawked in shock before he quickly set his tools down and wiped his hands on his coveralls.

"Miss Heartfilia, it's good to see you again. I'm surprised to see you here at this time." He smiled, extending his hand.

Lucy shook it and returned the smile, "Likewise Mister Dragneel. I'm covering the evening news tonight and have to get into the office early to make sure everything is ready. Busy morning?"

Natsu looked to the clock on the wall and was surprised to see that it was now close to eleven in the morning. Man, he'd really spaced out.

"You could say that." He replied, "Just focused."

"So I see." Lucy said, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to drill a hole into that car with that stare of yours."

Natsu chuckled and shook his head, "There's only one person I know who can do that and I'm so glad she's not here. When she gets mad I swear to God there's always a disturbance in the Force."

Lucy snickered at the reference before clearing her throat in an expectant manner.

"So what's the status on my car? Were you able to fix it like you said you could?"

"I told you, I have the magic touch." Natsu gave a playful wiggle of his fingers.

"Mhmm." Lucy hummed skeptically, hand on her hip.

Natsu gestured for her to follow, leading her back past the main office. Without even looking, Gajeel tossed Natsu a clipboard with a set of keys attached to it; her keys.

"Wait here." Natsu said, leading Lucy outside as he ran out to the back lot.

A few minutes later, Lucy was rewarded with a distinctive engine rev from behind the building followed by a squeal of tires as Natsu drove out to the front. Lucy openly gawked as Natsu drove donuts around her, grinning like a maniac, while Gajeel raged and cursed from the office; fist raised and shaking in anger. When he finally came to a stop, Natsu hopped out of the car laughing.

"Sorry, but I couldn't resist. Not with a beauty like this." Natsu patted the hood of the Chevelle.

"Holy…" Lucy whispered as she ran her hand over the metal, "Holy crap. You…you did it. You actually fixed it!"

Natsu blew on his fingers and gave a grin, "Magic touch."

Lucy rolled her eyes but smiled none the less, "Thank you. This really means a lot to me. What was wrong with it?"

"Well, it was kind of easy to miss. As good a shape this car is in, rust still has a nasty habit of finding its way into the littlest of places. In this case, the bolts that connect to the axle. The rust had gotten bad enough that all it took was a sharp jolt and, well, we both know what happened there."

Lucy sighed and shook her head, "I don't even want to think about how much worse this could have gotten."

"Well, be glad this was all that happened. You'd be surprised how the smallest of things can cause the most damage." Natsu rubbed the back of his neck.

Saying that and seeing her, Natsu couldn't help but think back to five years ago and the event that had caused the mission to go so wrong, so fast.

" _The smallest of things…"_ He thought.

"So how much do I owe you guys?" Lucy asked as she dug into her bag.

"…Hmm?" Natsu asked, blinking, mind snapping back to focus.

"For the repairs?" Lucy asked, "How much."

"Oh!" Natsu handed her the clipboard and the accompanying paperwork. Lucy read it over then shrugged.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm just happy to know that I can pay for this."

"All that book money finally coming in handy?" Natsu smirked.

"Being a bestselling author has its perks." Lucy sniggered. She was quick in writing a check and handing it to Natsu along with his copy of the paperwork.

"I also gave your tires a rotation and changed the oil." Natsu added.

Lucy looked at him with surprise and frowned, "Oh you didn't have to do that."

"Meh," Natsu shrugged, "I felt bad for you. I mean, you said this car means a lot to you; with it being your mothers and all that. She obviously enjoyed this car and passed that love onto you. So making sure it's in tip top shape is the least I could do."

The smile Lucy gave him honestly made a pleasant warmth fill his chest and he gave his neck a quick rub.

"Thank you…I mean it; thank you." Lucy smiled.

"You're welcome." Natsu said, feeling his cheeks warm, "You're all set Miss Heartfilia. Give us a call if you have any problems."

"I will." Lucy said as she opened the car door, "And I'll make sure to ask for you again if I have trouble."

As Lucy began to sit down in the driver's seat, her bag got caught on the edge of the car door and snagged…spilling her lunch tote, paper packets, on other miscellaneous contents onto the ground.

"Oh shoot!" Lucy gasped as she scrambled to gather everything up.

Natsu was quick to react too, grabbing the papers so that they weren't sullied by any dirt on the ground. He had just picked up a slim packet of papers when he noticed something on the front. Curious, he turned it over…and saw a familiar looking Dragon emblem decorating the page.

The title read: _**777th SPECIAL FORCES REGIMENT-"THE DRAGON'S".**_

His blood ran cold in his veins. Lucy, having gathered the remainder of her belongings, noticed what Natsu was looking at and quickly snatched the packet from his hands. There was a defensive look on her face as she tucked it into her bag.

"Sorry…" she said, "but that's personal. Good day Mister Dragneel."

Natsu starred at her as she made to get back in her car, rooted to the spot, and he couldn't stop himself from speaking.

"You won't find anything on them." He said, only to then realize his mistake.

A cold pit instantly formed in his stomach. Why did he do that? _Why the hell did he do that!?_

"…What?" Lucy asked, looking over her shoulder.

" _Shit, shit, shit, shit!"_ Natsu's thoughts were running a mile a minute, _"Think fast you dolt!"_

Lucy's eyes narrowed slightly as she turned around to face him. She looked at the packet, then to him, and carefully approached Natsu.

"Do you know something? We're you in the military?"

"I…uh…well…" Natsu stammered before sighing heavily, "yeah. Yeah, I was in the Army."

He didn't like the idea, but Natsu knew that if he wanted to save his skin he'd have to lie to Lucy. Granted, when he had left the Army he had signed a series of non-disclosure agreements and had given his word to never speak of his time in the Special Forces. His official records had been sealed away and were covered in so much black ink and red tape that it'd be a miracle if anyone got anything out of them whenever they were declassified. In its place, he'd been given a forged series of documents and a well-rehearsed story he was to tell his friends, family, and any employer he found work with.

He was sworn to secrecy. A secrecy, if broken, could spell harsh punishments for him.

He had accepted that.

He had lived with that.

But he had never imagined that he was going to be confronted by Lucy Heartfilia, of all people.

"You were?" Lucy asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. The glint in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by Natsu.

" _Just stick to the story and play it cool."_ Natsu thought and licked his lips.

"Yes, I was in the Army. As you know, here in Fiore, military service is mandatory for all citizens when they hit eighteen. It's the law. Granted, there are exemptions to that law but for the most part, the majority of people have to serve the required eighteen months."

"I know. My parents served and I would've too but shortly after I turned eighteen, I was in a car accident and my arm and leg were messed up for a while so I was disqualified from service."

"That would do it." Natsu gave a sympathetic frown, "But back to the point, I served my eighteen months but I decided to reenlist when my time was up, as many choose to do. I could've left and held reserve status but I liked the Army and decided to make a career out of it."

"A noble cause." Lucy smiled, "What unit did you serve with?"

"I served with the 49th Royal Infantry Division. I served for four years altogether before I was discharged."

Lucy immediately perked up, "You were in the forty-ninth too? No way, that was my cousin's old unit; talk about happenstance!"

"Your cousin?" Natsu asked while internally face palming. He knew the answer but had to play along.

"Yeah, maybe you knew him?" Lucy said brightly, "He's a Major now with a different unit but he was a lieutenant around the time I was captured five years ago. I wonder if the two of you have met."

"Maybe I did." Natsu shrugged, "But then again the forty-ninth is a big unit Miss Heartfilia; can't meet everyone." Natsu gave a lopsided smile.

Lucy frowned but gave a thoughtful hum, "From what I understand, the forty-ninth was sent to Alvarez to help with the peacekeeping process…did you serve overseas?"

"…Yes." Natsu after a slight hesitance, "Half of the forty-ninth was sent to Alvarez while the other half was kept reserved here in Fiore. We rotated every tour of duty. A lot of units did that because we were acting as peacekeepers in Alvarez; we weren't at war so not all of the military was fully mobilized."

"That sounds exactly like what my cousin told me before I went over there to cover the fighting," Lucy said to herself before adding:

"Not to be or sound rude but I have to ask: did you see combat in Alvarez?"

Natsu drew his lips into a thin line, the memories of Lucy's rescue and other missions coming back to mind. He sighed heavily, pushing the memories away and nodded his head.

"Yeah…I did. I was wounded in action and that's what got me discharged from the Army."

Lucy double blinked in shock, gaping slightly, "I'm sorry, I didn't know! I shouldn't have asked you that!"

"No, it's fine. I'm okay talking about it…it happened a long time ago." Natsu said with an awkward smile and neck rub.

There was a pregnant pause between the two of them before Lucy gave him another thoughtful look. She then reached into her purse and produced a business card. Natsu took it, brow furrowed.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"Would you like to grab a coffee sometime?" Lucy asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Natsu's mouth went dry in an instant.

"To be interviewed I mean," Lucy clarified, "you said you've seen me on the news, so do you know about my new book I'm planning to write."

"I remember you talking about that the other night, yes." Natsu said and he immediately knew where things were heading.

"Well, I need to give context to what happened in Alvarez. I figure an interview with a former serviceman could provide the perfect insight into the conflict with a boots on the ground perspective. Don't worry, you won't be the only one I'm going to interview, but it's a lot better than cobbling together second hand accounts and what the army will permit me to see."

"I can understand that…" Natsu said, biting his lip, "Why me though? I only just met you, no offense."

Lucy looked to her car and then back to him, a soft smile on her lips.

"You went above and beyond in helping me with my car Mister Dragneel. That means a lot to me. It shows me that you're a good person. It gives me a good feeling about you."

Natsu felt his cheeks warm and thanked her for the compliment.

"So what do you say; will you have a coffee with me?"

Natsu paused, looking at the card in his hand before sighing again, "I'll think about it."

"That's all that I ask." Lucy smiled, "If you do decide on anything, give me a buzz."

"I will." Natsu smiled back.

Lucy looked to her watch and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, "Oh shoot, I'm going to be late! Thank you for everything, but I've got to get going. Think about what I said!"

Lucy ducked into her car and a minute later, she was pulling out of the lot and driving away. Natsu watched her for as long as he could before she disappeared into the midday traffic. He looked at her card again and frowned.

"What have I gotten myself into?" He asked no one in particular.

"Uhm, Natsu." Gajeel's hummed in his ear, making Natsu startle with a yelp and jump.

"Gajeel, what the fuck!? Don't sneak up on me like that, you know I hate it when you do that!" Natsu snapped as spun around to face a Gajeel.

A cold chill quickly ran down his spine however when he saw the too pleasant smile on his lips.

"Remember what I told you about doing donuts out in front of my shop?" Gajeel asked, smiling a sickly sweet smile.

"Oh…yeah, about that…" Natsu gave an awkward laugh as Gajeel suddenly gripped his shoulder and squeezed; hard.

"Let's have a little chat, you and I." Gajeel said as his eyes turned wild and his smile frightening.

"Have mercy!" Natsu cried out as he was violently hauled back into the shop.

XXXX

 _ **Later that evening…**_

 _ **Fairy Tail Bar and Grill…**_

Fairy Tail, in Natsu's opinion, was one of Magnolia's hidden gems.

Located a few miles out in the sticks away from the city, the road side bar and grill wasn't a dump or dive as one might have thought. It was a well-kept and well maintained joint with room for plenty and cooking that could rival some of the big name steakhouses in the city. From the well-stocked bar, the flat screens that played all the major sports games, to the cozy atmosphere, Fairy Tail was a good place to wind down after a long day if one was willing to make the drive.

But then again, Natsu supposed he was somewhat biased to the military themed establishment. The walls were lined with photos and memorabilia that had either been donated to or collected by the restaurant's owner: Gildarts Clive.

Gildarts was a Royal Marine veteran and all around great guy. He had a deep love and respect for his fellow servicemen and women, both past and present, and had made Fairy Tail as a place to honor those who wore the uniform. Even the name Fairy Tail was an homage to the legendary Royal Guard unit that had fought during Fiore's war for independence against the Pergrande Kingdom back in the 1840's.

Tonight, Natsu found himself at the bar, nursing a cold one and sharing a plate of chicken wings with his blood brother; Gray Fullbuster. The two were childhood friends and they had both reenlisted in the army after their mandatory service had been completed. Both had taken the Special Forces trials together and passed it by the skin of their teeth.

Like Natsu, Gray had also been a part of the raid to save Lucy.

As much as the two would rib one another and share a rivalry, neither could imagine another watching their backs. Natsu smiled at the memory of the times they'd each pulled their asses out of the fire together.

"Hey," Gray smacked his shoulder, "don't be spacing out on me like that, it's scary."

"And why's that?" Natsu asked as he took a swig of his beer.

"Because," Gray said as he stripped a drumstick clean, "that means you're thinking. And that's never a good thing."

Natsu snorted, "I may be an idiot, but I'm not stupid. Besides, I'm not the one with a hamster running around in my head."

Gray nearly choked on his food as he laughed and smacked Natsu again.

"Smartass." He said as he cleared his throat.

Gray finished his beer and signaled Gildarts for another one. The man was quick to provide and slid a frothing mug right up to Gray.

"How are my boys doing?" Gildarts asked, wiping his hands with a rag, "And shouldn't you not be drinking Gray?"

"I'm off duty and my gun is at home; so it's all good." Gray smiled as he patted the patch on his uniform shoulder. It read: COURT OFFICER-MAGNOLIA COUNTY SHERIFF'S.

After he'd been discharged from the Army, Gray found work with the Sheriff's Department and was posted at the Federal Courthouse downtown; it was good work and it suited him, Natsu mused.

"Still doesn't mean I worry any less." Gildarts gave a wry smile, "Speaking of worrying, how's Juvia been? The baby giving her a hard time?"

"Between her getting kicked in the ribs and her insane cravings, I don't know how she does it." Gray sighed with a smile; a proud smile.

"But we wouldn't have it any other way. Only two months until the wedding and then another two until the little guy meets the world."

"You're having a boy? Nice!" Natsu grinned and gave Gray a one armed hug.

"If he's anything like you, he'll be a real terror for both you and Juvia." Gildarts cackled.

"At least mine won't be a boozehound." Gray muttered into his drink.

"What was that?" Gildarts squinted at Gray.

"Nothing!" He answered quickly before rubbing the silver cross necklace he wore between his fingers. It had been a birthday gift from Juvia when they were in high school. Gray never took it off, even when they had been deployed in the army.

Gray and Juvia were high school sweethearts. Juvia, the transfer student, had quickly fallen for hockey star Gray after he helped her fend off a few boys who'd been hounding her. At first, Gray had been somewhat annoyed by Juvia's clingy tendencies but it hadn't taken long for her to thaw things between the two of them. They'd been together ever since.

Natsu was happy for them, he really was; they were going to make great parents.

"What about you Natsu, how've you been?" Gildarts asked, snapping Natsu out of his thoughts.

"Fine boss, thanks." Natsu said, "Gajeel's kept me plenty busy at the shop so I'm not complaining."

"Seeing anyone?" Gildarts gave an eyebrow wiggle.

"Nah." Natsu shook his head, "No one yet."

"As if anyone would date this idiot." Gray chuckled only for both Gildarts and Natsu to smack him upside the head.

"Speaking of women, where's Cana? She's usually here isn't she?" Gray asked as he rubbed his head.

One would be hard pressed to find Cana away from the bar. The woman loved her alcohol to the point that she jokingly fancied herself a "connoisseur of all things booze." Didn't help matters that she was not only Fairy Tail's bartender but Gildart's daughter. How she didn't drink the man out of business was beyond both Natsu and Gray.

"Ah, she's out with Lisanna tonight. Figure I'd give her a break and allow her some alone time with her girlfriend." Gildarts shrugged with a smile.

Gray clutched his chest, as if in shock, "You gave someone a day off!? Holy shit Natsu, I think the worlds coming to an end!"

Gray received an eye roll from Gildarts, "Smartass."

He made his way back down to the end of the bar with a call from Natsu and Gray to let Max know that his cooking was phenomenal as usual.

Speaking of Lisanna, Natsu couldn't help but think of his snowy haired friend. She was the youngest of the Strauss siblings with Mirajane being the eldest and Elfman the second eldest. Mira was a model for one of the big name magazines in the city while Elfman worked as a contractor. Lisanna on the other hand was a consultant for security firm in the city. She was well suited to the job…being that she too had been with the forty-ninth and had been one of the few to wind up in the 777th with Natsu and Gray.

Fairy Tail had become their unofficial meeting spot for whenever the three of them or anyone else from the unit wanted to catch up.

"But seriously, what's up?" Gray asked, snapping Natsu out of his thoughts once again and bringing them back to their earlier conversation.

Natsu sighed and took a heavy swig of his drink, "You're never going to believe who showed up to the shop."

"Who?" Gray asked, arching his brow.

Natsu nodded to the TV above the bar, noticing that the evening news was on and in particular, who was hosting he current story.

Gray followed Natsu's line of sight and when he saw the news, Natsu swore the man's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

"No fucking way…" Gray muttered.

"Yep." Natsu said, taking another heavy drink.

"Lucy Heartfilia; are you serious!?" Gray hissed as he leaned closer to Natsu.

"Yep." Natsu said again.

"What the hell was she doing at Gajeel's shop!?"

"She hit a pothole and it wrecked her front axle." Natsu shrugged, "I fixed it up for her and gave her a tire rotation and oil change."

"Oh…" Gray said before giving a nervous laugh, running his hand through his hair.

"For a second there, I thought she'd finally figured things out and had begun tracking people down. Damn near had a heart attack the other night when I saw her on the news saying she was going to write a book about what we did in Alvarez."

"No, it was just a coincidence that she knows Gajeel and wound up at his shop. I happened to be working the other day." Natsu said as Gray took a heavy drink of his own.

"She did however have an info packet on the 777th." Natsu said, making Gray pause in his drinking and give him a sideways glance.

"And I may have let it slip that I was in the army and served in Alvarez…and now she's asked to interview me for context to her book."

Gray nearly choked on his drink and began to pound his chest as he gave two violent coughs. Gildarts gave a look from the other end of the bar but Natsu and Gray waved him off.

"Please tell me you told her to piss off." Gray hissed as he gave worried look over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening in on them.

"…I didn't exactly tell her no." Natsu mumbled as he rubbed his neck.

"Natsu, your my best friend; my blood brother; my go to guy; my dude…but I have to ask, what were you thinking!?" Gray groaned as he massaged his brow.

"We were told to stick to the stories we were given and tell nothing more beyond that. Do you know how much trouble you can get into if someone hears you blabbed about being in the 777th?"

"I know, I know." Natsu said defensively with a strained sigh, "I stuck to the script but the more we talked, the more I realized I wasn't going to be able to walk away from her."

Gray gave a derisive snort, "She's a reporter Natsu. Like a shark smelling blood, the moment she catches onto a scoop she's not going to let go. You know how these reporter types are."

Natsu rolled his eyes, "C'mon man, give her some credit, she's not like most reporters."

"And how would you know?" Gray asked, finishing his beer, "You hardly know her. The only time you spent with her was when you were running for your lives and getting shot at."

Natsu shook his head, "She's just different, okay. I got a feeling about her."

"You're cracked you know that right?" Gray starred at Natsu critically for several moments before shaking his head with a heavy sigh.

"She said on the news the other night that she doesn't know if you're alive or dead; any idea to think that's changed?"

"No." Natsu replied.

"Good, make sure it stays that way." Gray said. He picked up a chicken wing, looked at it, before setting it back down.

"Be honest with me; are you going to sit down with her?"

"I don't know." Natsu said, watching Lucy on the TV.

She was talking about an investment scam that had recently gone public and she was covering the ins and outs of the case. Watching Lucy confidently handle what was arguably a confusing case-delivering the facts in a clear cut manner and taking all those interviewed to task by asking the hard questions- filled Natsu with a sense of pride. He had no doubt that if he sat down with her, she'd handle him in the exact same manner. She'd come at him from every angle to get the truth and he'd use all the tricks up his sleeves to deflect and evade…a worthy challenge if he'd ever seen one.

He'd never been one to turn down a challenge. And the thought of keeping the truth from Lucy, as strange as it sounded, filled him with an odd thrill. A risky thrill but a necessary one at that.

"…Maybe I will." Natsu said.

"Seriously?" Gray asked to which Natsu nodded. Gray gave a frustrated sigh.

"I don't know what's gotten into you but whatever you decide, just make sure it doesn't come back to the rest of us. We don't need this blowing up in our faces…because in case you haven't noticed, some of us have a lot to lose."

"I know, I know." Natsu placated, "If anything happens I'll make sure it all comes down on me. I promise."

"Just be careful, okay?" Gray said, "I'd hate for you to face the firing squad after all we've been through simply because you couldn't keep your trap shut around a pretty blonde."

Natsu only shook his head with a wry smile and patted Gray on the back.

XXXX

 _ **Later that night…**_

He didn't dream like normal people did. In fact, his dreams weren't really dreams at all; they were a jumbled mess of memories. Some were good, some were bad. But they all revolved around his time in the service; of the things he'd done and seen.

Tonight was no different…

 _His father had sat him down before he shipped out for basic, a black book he'd never seen before in hand. It was rare for Igneel to have such a serious and somber expression on his face; the man always seemed to have a smile at the ready._

" _What is it dad?" He had asked._

 _Igneel didn't say anything. He simply handed the book over and let him open it. It was a small photo album, not much different from the one he and Grandeeney kept in the living room of their respective military careers._

 _This one however…this one was different…_

 _Instead of pictures of Igneel in his paratrooper gear or Grandeeney sitting in the cockpit of a helicopter-of them smiling for the camera with their buddies and the places they'd been-there were pictures of…bodies; burnt out vehicles and buildings; men and women glumly looking at the camera; Igneel looking off at something only he could see, a cigarette between his lips and blood smeared on his face; Grandeeney, still in her flight uniform, curled up in a shower stall as blood was rinsed off of her._

 _Igneel tapped the picture of his mother._

" _Her copilot took a rifle round to the neck; his blood sprayed all over her and their cockpit. He died before anyone could help him." Igneel said._

" _As for me. That was taken when Pergrande tried to invade Bellum; The Seven Month War. My unit was one of the first to drop into the country and we immediately got hit. That was taken when there was a break in the fighting."_

 _These pictures weren't the ones they showed in history class in school. These weren't the things showed in movies, TV, or video games. These were the horrors of war seen by those who'd witnessed it firsthand._

 _The pictures continued and each one made him force the bile back down his throat._

 _A group of Fiorean soldiers sat against a wall; some sleeping, others cleaning their weapons or trying to relax. One soldier calmly ate out of his mess kit…right next to the body of a Pergrande soldier who'd been torn down by rifle rounds._

 _An armored personnel carrier burned in the predawn light-torn open like a tin can-while the bodies of its occupants lay scattered about, their corpses still on fire._

 _A soldier trying to calm a woman as she screamed and wept hysterically; two medics frantically worked to save her child's life while a third ran into frame…a teddy bear soaked in blood._

 _A soldier firing an anti-tank rocket and the moment it hit its target, blasting the turret apart._

 _Igneel leaning around the corner of a building and firing his rifle on fully automatic, providing cover while his squad made a mad dash to cross the street._

 _A picture taken by Grandeeney, of body bags and wounded being loaded up into her helicopter._

 _Another one, this one of Igneel and a buddy of his, kneeling before a grave of a fallen soldier; the two holding one another as they wept. Another comrade had been lost._

" _You have to be prepared." Igneel said, "To see this…to see war…in all of its ferocity. You may be sent into combat, you may not. You may have to kill, you may not. But you have to be prepared, because it's not a matter of if but when. I showed these same pictures to Zeref when he joined the Cadets and then when he went into the service. And now I'm showing them to you."_

" _Igneel…" Natsu said, a lump forming in his throat that was very hard to swallow._

" _War is ugly. It is horrible. It is brutal. It is a waste of life and robs men and women of a part of themselves that they can never get back. There is no glory or honor in war; there is only you fighting for yourself and the guy next to you."_

 _Natsu finally swallowed the lump but found his voice lost. He could only nod at what Igneel was saying._

" _I'm not showing these to scare you. I'm showing you these because your mother and I love you and we want you to come home to us, no matter where things take you. Do you understand?"_

" _Y-Yes sir." He managed to choke out._

 _Igneel pulled him into a hug and held him tight._

" _You must be prepared."_

 _You must be prepared…_

 _You must be prepared…_

The dreams shifted…

 _The pictures hadn't prepared him for his first kill._

 _The air was choked with dust, acrid smoke, and the stench of burning flesh and warm blood._

 _He still held his assault rifle in hand, its weight keeping him partially grounded to reality; his index finger absentmindedly tapping the trigger guard, a nervous tick he'd developed shortly after arriving in country._

 _Helicopters flew overhead, the sound of their rotors a muted drone in the background. He barely acknowledged it, the same went for the radio chatter that buzzed in his ears._

 _He was too busy staring at the body at his feet._

 _They'd been conducting a sweep of an out of the way village when the ambush happened. It had been a chaotic, violent affair-up close and personal-and only finalized when armor and air support had finally arrived as backup. His squad had been one of the first to recover from the initial attack and had quickly worked to flank their attackers. He'd taken point and had rounded the corner to an alleyway when he nearly ran headlong into a Phantom Lord insurgent._

 _The two of them had stumbled back in shock, neither expecting the other._

 _He'd been faster on the trigger, overcoming his initial shock as his training quickly kicked in, and he'd cut the man down with a five shot burst of 5.56mm rounds. He'd been shocked-horrified even-at first, slowly realizing that he'd just killed another human being. But then his Sergeant had snapped him back to the fight and forced him to push ahead._

 _He'd killed five more insurgents in that village and another three when the ambush had been routed; the bastards having tried to flee across a farmer's field._

 _Eight._

 _He'd killed eight insurgents…eight people._

 _He thought he should feel disturbed, sickened, and horrified by that thought. But to be perfectly honest, he'd felt an odd sort of detachment from those kills._

 _The first one however…. it had been the first kill that stuck the most to him._

 _He knelt down to get a better look at the man, pulling down his shemagh and pulling his goggles up onto his helmet._

 _The insurgent was a man, probably a few years older than him, with shaggy brown hair and dark eyes. He wore a mismatched uniform, typical insurgency garb, and had been carrying an old sub machine gun._

 _He hadn't meant to shoot the man-no, the insurgent, don't humanize the enemy, it makes things easier-in the head; it had just been where his rifle drifted up as he fired. The SS109 armor piercing rounds had done their job, as nasty as it was. The first round pierced the right lung, collapsing it; the second had shattered the right collarbone; the third tore open the neck; the fourth hit the jaw, violently unhinging it; and the fifth had hit the right eye, practically splitting the head open. He wasn't sure which shot killed the insurgent first but he was sure he was dead before he'd hit the ground._

 _A quick and painless death._

 _A mercy that hadn't been deserved. Not after what this insurgent and the other fuckers had done to his buddies._

 _He was surprised by the rage that had suddenly taken over him. That had never happened before. He quickly swallowed it down and stood back up._

 _Footsteps caught his attention and he turned around to find Gray walking up to him, rifle slung and shotgun in hand, and coated in dust… a faraway look in his eyes. He was sure he wore a similar look. Gray came up to him, looked down at the body at his feet, and frowned._

" _Damn." He muttered, "Poor bastard probably didn't even know what hit him."_

 _He shrugged and didn't say anything. He looked back down at the insurgent, back to clinically analyzing the man who had tried to kill him and his buddies._

" _You alright?" Gray asked._

" _I don't know." He managed to find his voice, "I've never killed anyone before."_

" _Neither have I…until today at least." Gray replied._

 _Natsu looked to Gray who simply tapped his shotgun. Natsu nodded and pulled his goggles back down over his eyes._

" _Are you going to be alright?" He asked Gray who shrugged, clearly trying to keep his mind elsewhere._

" _I'll be fine."_

 _No he wouldn't, he thought, and neither would he. Their baptism by fire had led to their first kills. There was no coming back from this._

" _C'mon," Gray said, "leave the dead for the cleanup, Sergeants looking for you."_

 _They exited the alley back onto the main street. The street was filled with additional personnel from the unit and 7_ _th_ _Recon, the guys who'd saved their skins. Looking around, he saw townspeople hide in their doorways; bullet holes where there hadn't been any before; captured insurgents being blindfolded and flex cuffed; and there, up on the nearby hills, armored personnel carriers overlooking the town._

 _The tension from the battle hadn't completely left the air._

" _How's second squad, I heard they got hit bad over the radio." He asked._

" _Hansen, Kowalski, and Rojas were medevaced and should make it." Gray answered before frowning, "They lost Paulson, Reid, and Robertson."_

" _Damn." He sighed and shook his head, "I feel bad for Reid's family; his little boy just turned two."_

" _Yeah."_

"… _Sam didn't make it." Gray said after a lengthy pause._

 _Natsu came to a dead stop and stared at Gray who gave a bitter nod. Sam Caldwell was the squad's automatic rifleman; a quiet kid from Hargeon who got along with everyone in the squad and wanted to go to college after his service was up. When the ambush had broken out, Sam had been one of the first to go down. A sniper in a bell tower had hit him and he'd dropped like a rock; never getting a chance to fire a shot._

" _Lisanna tried to help him but…" Gray shook his head, "He didn't make it."_

 _He swore a litany under his breath and looked for Lisanna. He saw her sitting in the back of one of the MRAP's; staring at her blood drenched hands as tears silently ran down her face. He made to go to her but Gray stopped him, gesturing to the town square._

 _He swore again and followed Gray to where Sergeant Royce was waiting for them._

Natsu awoke with a gasp and bolted upright, the sudden feeling of something cold pressing into his arm having taken him out of his dreams. He looked down and found Plue pressing his nose into his arm, a concerned look in the dog's eyes. He must've been talking in his sleep again.

Natsu sighed heavily and rubbed Plue's head, "Did I startle you? Sorry boy."

Plue nuzzled his hand before trotting back to his bed. Natsu ran his hand through his hair and grimaced at the feeling of cold sweat. He looked over to the clock over the TV and found that it was quarter after eleven. He'd gotten home around nine and had fallen asleep on the couch like he usually did on most nights.

A buzzing from his coffee table drew his attention to his phone. He had two messages that simply said "CALL ME" and "NOW." There was no number but he knew who it was; he'd been expecting a call at some point after leaving Fairy Tail.

Dialing the number that wasn't in his contacts, Natsu waited for the phone to ring twice before the garbled sounds of an encryption algorithm were heard, followed by another three rings before he was answered.

"About damn time you called." Came the gruff response, "What the hell took you so long?"

Natsu smirked in spite of himself, "Fell asleep, sorry. What's got your panties in a twist El-Tee?"

"That's _Major_ Dreyar to you, _Corporal_ Dragneel." Laxus Dreyar hissed back, "And you damn well know why I'm calling."

"Gray?" Natsu simply asked.

"Called me earlier with an interesting story. He told me my dear cousin Lucy showed up at your shop and somewhere along the line, you agreed to sit down for an interview with her."

"It's just an interview Laxus," Natsu sighed, "relax; I've got this handled. She just wants to get some context for her book, I answer some questions, and we part ways."

"Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem, but you don't know Lucy like I do. If she's been doing research on the 777th and she's talking to you, she's looking for more than just 'context.' She's fishing for info and believes that talking to someone may lead her to what she really wants. And if her TV interview is anything to go by, what she wants is _you_."

Natsu couldn't stop his cheeks from warming at that. He knew what Laxus meant but the way he had phrased it made this whole debacle sounds so much more personal and intimate. And, he supposed, for Lucy in a way it was.

"That's my cousin you're thinking about Salamander, get your head out of the gutter." Laxus said, as if sensing Natsu's thoughts.

Natsu double blinked and pursued his lips, "Okay, point taken. That all sounds surprisingly on point."

"Lucy's the sister I never had. I'd be surprised if I didn't know what made her tick." Laxus quipped.

"So what, you want me to turn her down, say I've had second thoughts, and leave it at that?" Natsu asked glibly.

"Well, now that you've committed, you can't back out unfortunately."

"Why?" Natsu aked.

"Lucy will know something is up. She won't leave you alone until she gets some answers. She's sharp like that."

"So I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't?"

"Should've watched your mouth." Laxus quipped and Natsu could hear the grin in his voice.

"What was I supposed to do?"

"You could've said no."

"Fuck off." Natsu bit back before the both of them sighed heavily.

"Jesus man, do you realize what you've gotten into?" Laxus asked, "The risk you're taking and what'll happen if you fuck this up?"

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Gray: if anything happens, I'll make sure it comes down on me and me alone. Nothing will come back to you, Gray, or anyone else from the unit."

"And if Lucy finds out too much and keeps coming back to you?" Laxus asked.

"I won't let it get that far."

"Natsu…" Laxus growled in warning.

"Not like that! Jesus man, give me some credit. I'll just make sure I steer her in the wrong direction at each turn until the spooks upstairs finally start stonewalling her."

Laxus was quiet for several moments, "Alright…alright. Just…just be careful, okay?"

"Always." Natsu replied before smirking, "By the way, how are things going with Mira? Has she given you a private photo shoot yet or you two still eye stripping one another."

"Good night Corporal." Laxus said in a devil may care tone.

"Hey, you bust my balls, I bust yours."

And with that, the call ended. Natsu set his phone down and ran his hands down his face, giving an exhausted sigh. Plue and Happy looked at him from their respective beds and Natsu gave a wane smile in return.

"Me and my big mouth, huh guys?" Natsu said before standing, "Come on; let's go to bed."

Happy and Plue perked up immediately and happily followed him to his room where they quickly settled atop his bed. Natsu had just brushed his teeth and put on his pajama pants when he paused for a minute. He then knelt down and pulled foot locker out from under his bed. He opened it to reveal its contents. His camouflage uniforms; his combat boots; his beret and brassard; a small chest containing the various medals, badges, and campaign ribbons; and a small lockbox. He dug a key out of his second to last uniform and popped the lock, revealing the lockbox's only contents: a pair of dog tags and a small UV penlight.

Natsu smiled a fond smile as he turned the tag over between his fingers. They weren't like the normal dogs tags issued to regular troops; these were his Special Forces tags. They were anodized black with a non-reflective finish and seemed to bare no identification markings. Well, at least until he used the penlight to reveal The Dragon's emblem on the front followed by his call sign, ID barcode, and blood type. No mention of name, religion, or serial number.

His tags were the only thing he was allowed to keep of his former life and he hardly ever took them out of the lockbox aside from the times where he found himself feeling sentimental.

" _Sentimental,"_ Natsu thought with a wry smile. Was that what he was using to call Lucy Heartfilia's sudden reappearance in his life? No, ironic amusement seemed more appropriate. He'd spent half of his life living as a ghost, lying to his friends and family, and now here he was about to be put under a microscope by the woman he thought he'd never see again.

Ironic indeed.

Maybe Gray was right. Maybe he was cracked.

But either way, he had committed to this and there was no backing out. He'd either keep the truth hidden from Lucy or this would all blow up spectacularly in his face. A risky challenge indeed.

Accepting his fate and his commitment to his new "mission" as he was now starting to look at it, Natsu put his tags away and made his way back to his phone. Picking up Lucy's card, he dialed her number and took a few calming breaths.

The call nearly went to voice mail before it was answered.

"Hello?" Lucy answered groggily.

"Yes, Miss Heartfilia?" He asked.

"Who is this?"

"It's Natsu Dragneel, I fixed your car up the other day. You know, I have the magic-"

"The magic touch, yes." Lucy said, audibly perking up, "Do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, sorry. I know it's late but…I have a question for you."

"If you're calling me this late it had better be important."

"…Would you like to grab a coffee sometime?" Natsu smirked.

XXXX

A/N: And that concludes this chapter.

Yes, as I said in the intro, it's been a while since I've written anything or updated anything. But, life is life and a full time job is a full time job. With that being said, my new schedule change should allow me more free time on my days off and evenings to get back into writing so hopefully I'll be able to update more often (wishful thinking on my part).

In regards to this chapter, we got a look at Natsu's side of things and got a look into his past and his present along with a few other characters being introduced who we'll be seeing again throughout the story as it develops. Next chapter will switch back to Lucy's side of things as she and Natsu sit down for a little chat. Will Natsu be able to misdirect Lucy and keep his secret safe or will she catch onto something being off with him? Tune in next update to find out.

As for updates goes; like I said, I'll update when I can and am able to. I think the next story I'm going to work on is "Between Light and Shadow" as that is sorely in need of an update and then from there I'll tackle "Vice" and "Songs from the Sea." Who knows, maybe I can get a double or triple update taken care of if I put my mind to it?

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING!


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